We are now into the second month of winter — and the worst is yet to come.
We have not had a lot of really cold weather, just the occasional frost, but the winds have added their chill factor to the equation, making for three- or four-layer days. This is the secret: to keep warm, just add more layers of clothing; after all, it is winter.
Most people, like me, have become couch potatoes to keep out of the cold, but there are some that have been brave enough to wet a line. However, with high water levels and turbid or muddy water, their pickings have been slim.
The best results have come from the dams: Eildon, Nillahcootie, the Hume, Waranga Basin and Nagambie. At least the water is easier to fish, and the levels are more constant.
Some redfin are being caught at the basin, Eildon and the Hume Weir; it may take some searching to find them, but they are about. I was told that fish tend to feed near the bank when the water is rising, as it covers new ground and gives them access to fresh food. So instead of casting into the deep, fish close to the shore — and with muddy water, you will get better results using bait. The fish will hunt using smell to find their dinner; if possible, use as little weight as possible in the rivers. Fish the snags and the slower-moving back water.
The best bait are worms, both garden and scrub worms; mud-eye shrimp, if you can find any this time of year; yabbies; horse is one out of left field; and saltwater mussels — you will have to dry them to keep them on the hook. You can also find cod in the same water and they will take the same bait, as well as chicken and cheese.
Yellowbelly will also take the same bait. You might have noticed a yellow tinge starting to appear in the bush as the wattles start to bloom. This indicates yellowbelly are close to starting their run.
We are also coming up to the close of cod season, which is on September 1. This is the start of their breeding season and with the exception of Lake Eildon, the taking of cod will be banned in all fisheries in Victoria and NSW. At the moment, cod can be taken, as long as you stick to the bag limit and size limit.
Reports indicate that the best place to fish for cod is in Eildon, fishing mainly the river arms. The best times have been in the late afternoon into the evening. Surface lures have produced some of the best results, as well as cheese and raw chicken, and natural baits, including grubs, worms and yabbies. But as they say, cod are where you find them and you only catch cod if you go fishing. Staying on the couch, you catch nothing.
Now for saltwater fishing. We are close to concluding the second week of school holidays in Victoria. Trips away to the coast are drawing to a close, but at Queenscliff, Rod Lawn said, weather permitting, there was plenty of action for anglers. He said pinky snapper were being taken, and not only on bait such as salmon and pilchard squid. They were biting on soft plastics along the inshore reefs, as well as inside the heads as far up the bay as Mornington.
According to Rod, the main run of big snapper is still a couple of months away. As my dad used to say, the big snapper came on the bite midway through October to Melbourne Cup day, snapper up to 10kg, but these days big snapper are up to eight or nine kilos. Rod said he was also catching squid, salmon, trevally and flathead. He said whiting were also a couple of months from running.
Rod said it was a similar story in Western Port Bay — pinky snapper along the rubble beds along the shipping lanes off Hastings, north to the steel mill and south to Phillip Island. Rod said he was also catching gummy shark off Phillip Island, and flathead and leatherjacket along the sandy bottom.
North of the border at Eden in NSW, John Liddell said the team from Freedom Charters was finding the action off the shelf quiet. Inside, the reef fishing was still good, with snapper, morwong and flathead. He reported that the snapper were larger than they had been over recent seasons.
Mark from Freedom Charters said most fish were around a couple of kilograms, with some even bigger. He said the best fishing was south of Eden to Green Cape near the Victorian border. Mark said the kingfish were hard to locate and not in great numbers.
Further north at Narooma, it was much the same as at Eden, and Graham Cowley said the flathead fishing along the sandy bottom between the inshore reefs was the best it had been for some years.
Well, once again, we have had more rain, and once again the rivers are on the rise. This has affected the fishing in our region, with the dams the best spots to fish. Stay safe and good fishing. Drive safely and tight lines.